Priming apparatus for explosive-engines.



w. JAY. IRIMING` APPARATUS F08 EXPLOSIVB ENGINES.

I AIPLIOATION FILED D10. 29, 1913. l l 1,125,548. 1 y Patented.131119,1915.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. JAY.

PRIMING APPARATUS F011 EXPLOSIVE IENGINES. APPLIGATION FILED 11110.29,1913.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHBET'Z.

11H1! IIIIIIIIIWIIIIIIII' Wg@ J@ hydrocarbon suiicient to Iagain `startthe WEBJAY,OF CHICAGO,v ILLINOIS.

'PRIMING APPARATUS FOR EXPLOSIVE-ENGAINES.

Application led December 29, 1913.

To all lwhom it may concern. 1

Be 1t known that I, .Vnn JAY, a citizen 4of the United States, residingat Chicago, in thecounty ofy Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and-useful Improvements in Priming Apparatusvfor IlXplosive-Engines, of Which thefollowing is a specification. i f

My invention relates .ingeneral to eXplosive engines and moreparticularly to means for facilitating the starting of such engines..Considerable diiiiculty. is often experienced in starting explosiveengines, such,

`for insta'ncc,'as those commonly used to propel automobiles, especiallyin cold Weather when the liquid hydrocarbon does notvaporizeas readilyas in vWarm Weather. The relative proportions of fluid hydrocarbon andair, which form the most efficient explosive mixture for running-an.engine after it has started, are often 4not suli'cientlyhighly explosiveto initiate the explosions when. the engine is cranked. It is,therefore, frequently necessary to inject directly into an enginecylinder .a small quantity of liquid hydrocarbon in order. thatA theexplosions may be started.

My present invention relates to thetype of priming device covered byPatent No. 1,052,826, granted-tome on.February 11, 1913, and moreespeciallyio an improve- `ment in the embodiment of 4my saidinventiondisclosed in my co-'pending application 'Serial No. 67-l,549,i`1ledJanuary l3l, 1912.y

` The objectof my; present invention `is to provide. a priming .deviceofthe character referred tom-Which the-reservo1r chamber inthe primingconduit for containing .a

priming supply of hydrocarbon Will .be located in a position visible. tothe operator of the engine, so that the operatormay readily observe,before stopping the engine,

whether the chamber contains a supply of engine.

My invention also comprises other features of construction Whichnwillbexhereinafter more fully disclosedin the. speoication and specificallypointed out in lthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my. invention asembodied in two convenient and practical forms, in Which- Figure 1 is aside elevational view .showing my invention appliedtan automobile, thelatter. being` indicated iinildotted lines;

Specification of Letters Patent.

tank, to the carburetor.

IParenteel 32111.19, 1915.

serial Naeoaass.

is-supported; nF ig. 3a a sectional detail view Y of the airinlet-valve; Fig.` Il a View similar to' fFig. 1 showing a slightlymodified embodiment `of my invention Fig. 5 an enlarged plan View ofthepriming chamber shown in Fig. 4, the dash-board upon which it issupported being shown in section; and Fig. 6 a verticalsectional View online 6, 6,-Fig. 5.

' Similar reference characters-are used to designate similar. parts inthe several figures of4 thedrawings.

Referring 4more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, reference character Adesignates in dotted lines an automobile comprising an engine of one ormore cylinders B', B2, B3 and B4.

C indicates the carburetor .with Which. the fuel tank D communicates.through the. conduit;l (l. -The explosive mixture is drawn from thecarbureter through the conduit 'C to the manifold b of the enginecylinders.

E indicates the dash-board of the automobile.

The automobile above described does not in itself constitute part of myinvention, but

.is merely illustrated in order that the-con- 'dent that my'inventionyis not limited in its application to any particular type of automobile,nor in' factto automobiles, but is capable of use in connection Withexplosive engines in general.

Supported in any convenient position, visible to theoperatoroftheengine, is a chamber F for containing a priming supply of fuel. Thischamber communicates through a conduitn F with. the fuel tank, suchconduit conveniently being connected with the conduit cl leading fromthe fuel The conduit F is connected by a suitable coupling f with apassageway f2 1in the-Wall of the chamber F. A short pipe z.communicates With the passage f and depends Within the chamber-F. A.tube K, open at 4its upper end, extends vupwardly Within the chamber Fand comlconneotedfvvith a conduit-N leading to and communicating withthe manifold b of the engine. p ting L is controlled by a needlevalve-.msecured to a valve stem M which is'providedv with a knurled headm.

The chamber F may be conveniently supported upon the dash-board E so asto be in a position to be conveniently observed by the automobileoperator. The chamber is provided with a flange .f which overlies theinner surface of the dash-.flaoardffaroud the opening Vin which thechamber is seated.'

Screws may be extended through the flange f into engagement with thedash-boardto securely support the chamber. The exposed wall of thechamber is preferably formedfof glass G, which is surrounded by a rim ghaving a flange g in which the glass is supported. The flange g isprovided with an exteriorly screw-threaded flange g, which engages aninterior screw-threaded flange on the surrounding portion of the chamberF.

The manner of using, and operation of, my improved priming device are asfollows: When the engine is initially started `and there is no. fuel inthe priming chamber F, the engine is turned over in the usual mannereither by a hand crank or a self-starter. The valve m has beenpreviously opened so that the suction created in the engine cylinders iscommunicated through the manifold to the conduit N and thence throughthe fitting L and tube K to the interior of the chamber F. The partialvacuum created in the chamber F lifts the hydrocarbon through theconduit F, coupling f', and depending tubc h, into the chamber. When thefluid reaches the level of the open upper end of the tube K, it is drawntherethrough into the conduit N and thence through the manifold into theengine cylinders, thereby supplying a rich explosive mixture whichfacilitates the starting of the engine. After the engine has beenstarted the valve m is closed so as to disconnect the engine cylindersfrom the chamber F. Ifdesired, however, the valve m mayl remain openafter the' engine has started in order that a more rich explosivemixture may be supplied to the engine until it becomes Warm, than issupplied through the carbureter. It is therefore possible to permit thecarbureter to remain adjusted to supply the mixture most eliicie'nt whenthe engine is warm owing to the fact that it is not necessary that thecarbureter should supply a mixture sufficiently rich to initiate theexplosion when the engine is cold. Before the operator stops the enginehe observes the level of the fuel in the chamber F, and if thereisinsufficient fuel already stored in the chamber, the valve m is openedso that the suction created inthe engine cylinders will refill thechamber F from the fuel tank D to substantially the level of the top ofthe tube K. The valve mis The passageway through the fits" then closedand the engine may be stopped. In orderv to facilitatel the succeedingstarting of the engine, the valve m is opened so that the fuel stored inthe chamber F will flow through the hole lc adjacent the bottom ofthetube K, thence pass through the fitting L, conduit N to the manifold,and into the engine cylinders by gravity. The eX- plosions mayconsequently be quickly started either by the hand crank or by theselfstarter.

In Figs. 4:, 5 and 6 I have illustrated a slightly modified embodimentof my invention in which in lieu of the chamber F I employ a chambercomprising a gas cylinder R supported upon afbase O, the lattercomprising spaced tubes O and O2 adapted to extend through holes in thedash-board E. The tubes are provided with clamp nuts o .which engage theouter surface of the dashboard. he passageway through the tube O iscontinued through the base O andk opens into a space communicating withthe interior of the cylinder R. The passageway through the tube O2 iscontinued through the base O and communicates with the lower end of atube Rwhich extends upwardly within the cylinder R. S designates a capfor lclosing the upper end of the cylinder R. The tube O is connectedwith the conduit F leading from the fuel tank, while the tube O2communicates through suitable couplings with a fitting Ll provided witha valve seat coperating with the valve m to control the passageway tothe conduit r and thence through the manifold to the engine cylinders.

The modified form of my invention shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 operates insubstantially the same manner as that above described in connection withFigs. 1, 2 and 3. The operation of the engine stores a priming' supplyof fuelin the chamber R, and such priming fuel is utilized in againstarting the engine by opening the valve m so that the fuel in thechamber flows through the opening p atthe base of the tube P, thencethrough the passage inthe tube O2, through the .fitting L', conduit Nand manifold to the interior of the engine cylinder, thereby supplying arich mixture to facilitate the starting of the explosions.

In order to secure the best results in initially starting theexplosions, it is sometimes desirable to mix a limited quantity of airwith the priming liquid. This may be accomplished by providing an airinlet valve on the reservoir, as shown at T in Figs- 2 and 3. The'airinlet valve is shown in detail in Fig. ,3 and comprises a cylindricalcasing having a reduced screw-thread ed end which engages within ascrew-threaded opening inawall of the reservoir F. An inwardly unseatingvalve T coperates With a seat t" at the lower end of the valve casing tocontrol the passage of atmosphere into the reservoir. The valve isyieldingly held against its seat by a coiled spring surrounding thevalve spring t2 and resting at its lower end upon a shoulder above thevalve seat t', and engaging at its upper end an adjustable cap T3. Thecap T3 is provided with a cylindrical ange t4 which loosely surroundsthe upper end of the valve casing and with a central portion t?depending within the valve casing and in screw-threaded engagement withthe valve stenrjg. The end of the i valve stem which projects throughthe cap T3 is provided with a knurled disk T2 by means of which thevalve stem maybe adjusted relatively to the cap T3 so as to adjust thetension of the spring. The quantity of air admitted to the reservoir Fvmay consequently be regulated by adjust ing the tension of the springto suit varying weather conditions so as to produce an effi.- cientpriming mixture.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that I have inventedan improved priming device for explosive engines by the use of Which theoperation of the engine stores a priming supply of fuel in a chamberabove the cylinder intake, so that such prim-- ing fuel may iiow bygravity into the cylinders in subsequently starting the engine, and Ainwhich the operator of the engine may observe the supply of fuel in thepriming chamber and maintain a desired amount of priming fluid so as toinsure the necessary supply for the subsequent vstarting of the engine.

I claim:

1. The combination with an explosive engine, of a reservoir containingliquid fuel, a conduit leadin to said reservoir from a supply of liquiduel, a conduit projecting up- Wardly Within said reservoir andcommunieating with the engine cylinder, said latter conduit having ahole therethrough adjacent the bottom of the reservoir, and a valvecontrolling the passageway through said last mentioned conduit.

2. The combination with an explosive engine and a fuel tank therefor ofa reservoir containing liquid fuel; a conduit leading to said reservoirfrom said fuel tank; a conduit projecting upwardly within said reser-Yvoir and communicating with the engine cylinder; said conduit having ahole there,r through adjacent the bottom of said reservoir; a valvecontrolling the flow of fuel through said last mentioned conduit to theengine cylinder, said reservoir comprising means for rendering visiblethe amount of fuel therein, and means for supporting said reservoir in aposition convenient for the observation of the engine operator.

3. The combination with an explosive engine, of arcarbureter forsupplying an explosive mixture to the engine, a priming conduit leadingfrom a supply of liquid fuel to the engine cylinder, a chamber formingpart of said conduit for automatically trapping therein a priming supplyof fuel, and an inlet valve for controlling the supply of atmosphere tosaid chamber.

4. The combination with an explosive engine, of a carbureter forsupplying an explosive mixture to the engine, a priming conduit leadingfrom a supply of liquid fuel to the engine cylinder, a chamber formingpart of said conduit for automatically trapping therein a priming supplyof fuel, an inlet valve for controlling the supply of atmosphere to saidchamber, and means for adjusting said valve to vary the amount of airsupplied to said chamber.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

WEBB JAY.

Witnesses:

HENRY A. PARKS, E. M. ANDERSON.

